1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to network management systems, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for facilitating a user/administrator to monitor several distributed resource elements as a resource pool.
2. Related Art
A resource element generally refers to an entity which is used in computation or communication. Examples of resource elements include memories, processors, processes, etc. Management systems are often provided to monitor the usage and status of such resource elements.
Multiple resource elements are often used as resource pools in networked systems. For example, a front end machine may distribute web page requests to multiple web servers, and the web servers could together be viewed as a resource pool since each web page request can be served potentially by any of the web servers.
Similarly, virtual computing environments (such as in utility computing and grid computing) are evolving which view several distributed resource elements (provided in physically different units) as a resource pool in performing a desired computation or providing a desired service.
There is a general need to simplify management of such resource pools in network management systems.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.